By The Rev’d Canon Bill Krizner, Canon for Missions & Evangelism
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
–John 10:10
January is Life Month at the Cathedral and we are asking that each and every parishioner join us in both praying for and celebrating the many wonders of this abundant life that the Father has provided. As Christians, we proclaim that all human life is a precious gift from God that is to be both treasured and protected. As recipients of such a gift, Christ calls us to live into the responsibilities that accompany it. At St. Peters Anglican Cathedral, we believe that life should be protected and nurtured from the moment of conception until our final earthly breath. While much of our focus rightfully centers on advocacy for the unborn, we must also stand beside people in the midst of war, hunger, injustice, and other social issues that directly affect and challenge the dignity of human life. Moreover, we also treasure the beauty of the lives within our own parish, as we continually minister to the sick and the dying.
At St. Peters, we celebrate life outside the walls of the Cathedral through our Missions & Evangelism ministry. Within Missions & Evangelism, our Life Core works diligently with local pregnancy ministries, such as A Women’s Pregnancy Center and The PHI Center, as well as end-of-life ministries such as those offered at Big Bend Hospice. The same team loves on new mothers and children through our partnership with the Making Miracles Group Home. And through our Under-Resourced and International Cores, we serve countless people facing hunger and homelessness throughout the world.
We also greatly treasure the precious lives of our members at St. Peter’s Cathedral as they face illness and death through our Pastoral Care ministry. Our newly appointed Director of Pastoral Care, Father Jeff Trostle, has been working diligently to strengthen our Stephen Ministries, GriefShare offering, Healing Hearts Library, and LEM-V ministries. Our clergy and staff make weekly calls and visits to the sick and to the dying and welcome visits to discuss end-of-life planning with parishioners and families.
God is indeed pro-life, as He both creates and sustains it at every stage–the pre-born, infancy, adolescence, maturity, and old age. At St. Peter’s, we do indeed stand strongly against abortion and euthanasia and we will take time to consider both on Sanctity of Life weekend on January 22nd and 23rd with both a prayer service and a special visit from local life ministry leaders. However, we also remain committed to protecting human life at every stage and believe that God calls us to cherish and celebrate the abundant life that He promises throughout Scripture to all people. Please take time this month to give God thanks for such life and pray about ways to join St. Peter’s in cherishing and protecting it.